Forum: Open ears to teens

Discussion on violence suggests listening, parental involvement.

January 15, 2006|By Joe Nixon Of The Morning Call

Easton Boys and Girls Club Executive Director Dean Young remembered the days of his youth, when violence was usually something viewed on television in places such as Los Angeles, New York or Philadelphia, when the Lehigh Valley was a "safe haven."

"Now, when you pick up the newspaper, you're talking about something right in your own back yard," he said Saturday afternoon.

As moderator of a round-table discussion at the club as part of a Martin Luther King Jr. celebration, Young and others voiced their ideas on how to reverse the trend of violence across the region, with better listening and more parental involvement among key points raised.

Events honoring King were held across the area Saturday including Allentown, where the NAACP of Allentown held a leadership workshop for students at The Caring Place on Hamilton Street.

At the Easton event, community activist Sandra Riley, a former staff member at the club and a former executive director of St. Anthony's Youth Center in Easton, said teens need more attention, but said listening can be difficult for adults and community members.

She said society is more complex than ever and youth are affected differently than previous generations. "They know what they see," she said of what she called "media hype."

Riley said she's heartbroken by recent violence.

"You have to listen with a whole empty mind, I call it. Listen to what they are saying," she said. "It may not be logical to you as an adult because you've been through it." Youth, she said, need to be taught to see beyond the immediate future.

George E. Cabarrus Sr., director of Easton-based Children United for Rehabilitation Education, said youth need support and communication with adults such as teachers, but also from parents. He said parents can get caught up in busy lives and lose track of their children.

"We can be a public success and a private failure," he said.

Cabarrus, a former corrections officer who works with teen boys in a group home, said youth need role models and urged communities to come together.

"If we unify, we can make a difference," he said.

Riley said youth need alternatives outside of sports.

"I have young kids out there that want to be a photographer but don't have a camera," she said. Some parents, she said, would sooner spring for a $200 pair of sneakers than a cheap camera. "You have to give them (youth) a chance to know," she said.

Young said Easton City Councilman Ken Brown will be calling for the community to rally against violence through marches and demonstrations. He said events such as marches can be catalysts for change and dialogue.

"And I'd love to see us back to the days where we are a safe haven again," Young said.